CRUEL HAND

"prying eyes"
Year:  2008
Label:  Bridge Nine
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  20 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Hardcore








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"lock and key"
Year:  2010
Country:  US
City:  Portland
Label:  Bridge Nine
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  10
Time:  20 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Hardcore













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"the negatives"
Year:  2014
Label:  Hopeless
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  20 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Hardcore








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"your world won't listen"
Year:  2016
Label:  Hopeless
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  20 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Hardcore








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NATTERERS

"head in threatening attitude"
Year:  2018
Country:  UK
City:  Yorkshire
Label:  Boss Tuneage
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  14
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Punk        Hardcore

In 2016 and 2017 the UK’s Natterers released two very compelling EP’s respectively. Then the band announced that they would be releasing their first full-length Head In Threatening Attitude this year. This was the real test. The big leagues. Could the band solidify and master their sound enough to crank out a fantastic hardcore album and live up to the great work they did on Demo ’16 and Toxic Care? The answer to that question is, “Hell yes!”

If you’re not familiar with Natterers yet, Head In Threatening Attitude is actually a great place to start with their material. The first track, “Power Tripping” is a really good representation of what the band’s overall sound is like and what they’re all about in general. Lead vocalist Emma’s extremely hard-hitting yells are complemented by guitarist Thomas’s shrieking surf-influenced riffs, while the bass and drums maintain a swift and tight rhythm.

Emma’s vocals on this record should really place her up at the top tier of contemporary hardcore vocalists. Just like “Power Tripping,” other tracks such as “Boring Minds” and “Fix The Fixation” also include her powerful yelling. In a bit of twist though, there are tracks like “Germs And Creeps” and “Not Long Left Now” where she sort of walks the line between her signature yells and melodic singing, which up until this point had not been featured on a Natterers release before. It’s a very welcomed surprise that she pulls off quite well.

Another major part of the band that carries the songs on Head In Threatening Attitude is Thomas’s guitar technique. It’s the backbone of the majority of the tracks, really. His style lands somewhere in between that of East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys and PJ Russo of Night Birds. He is able to mix 80’s West Coast hardcore with surf riffs extremely well in his own unique way, which in turn makes them a large part of what makes each of the fourteen songs distinct from one another. A perfect example of this is the track “Appetite For Distraction.” Thomas’s high-treble and high-distortion licks follow Emma’s vocals (along with the bass as well) making for a very cool contrast. In "Please The People" his massive power chords are accented by quick fills, and screaming high notes later on (*Review by Ricky Frankel ).

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WOLFBRIGADE

"the enemy: reality"
Year:  2019
Country:  Sweden
City:  Stockholm
Label:  Southern Lord
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  10
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Crust Punk














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"run with the hunted"
Year:  2017
Label:  Southern Lord
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Crust Punk








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"damned"
Year:  2012
Label:  Southern Lord
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Crust Punk








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"comalive"
Year:  2008
Label:  Farewell
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  14
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Crust Punk








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"prey to the world"
Year:  2007
Label:  Agipunk
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Crust Punk








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EMPOWERMENT

"gegen kult"

Year:  2012

Label:  Twisted  Chords

Format:  CD, LP

Tracks:  12

Time:  26 min.

Genre:  rock

Style:        Hardcore

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"bengalo"
Year:  2018
Country:  Germany
City:  Stuttgart
Label:  End Hits
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  30 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Hardcore

Empowerment undoubtedly holds something of a special status in Germany's thoroughly illustrious hardcore scene. This is not only because the band brings together an idiosyncratic mix of master killer-filled beatdown vibes and snobby punkattitude, but certainly also on the unmistakable political standing for which the gentlemen from Stuttgart at least since the big-cash 2012 debut "gegen.kult" are known.

In general, since the founding days, Empowerment has been conveying a very coherent picture of lived, unencumbered anti-attitude, which begins with the denial of social media activities and stops at the lyrical charm of songs like "Stuttgart asozial". Long story short, you just can not deny the troop's authenticity - a trait that's all too often lost when trying to squeeze your own portfolio into some popular pattern.

Such pre-emptiness will of course increase the expectation to the appropriately titled successor "Bengalo" in the immeasurable. Even the first sounds should calm the inclined Empowerment sympathizers. Hard riffs straight outta stu york, beatdown, furious barking and gang shouts. Everything remains how it was there.

Even six years after "Gegen kult", empowerment left the musical paths it had taken at the time only marginally. The boys are by no means tame or quiet and the texts are still uncompromisingly written in German. In addition to the omnipresent, anti-fascist mindset and the ying and yang of interhumanity, the social shady sides of a republic, between the disenchantment with politics and the shift to the right, are addressed above all else. In terms of timeliness and relevance, the record can not be beaten and the variedly staged hardcore / antifa-punk hybrid sound whips the political message into the mind of the listener without too often citing itself. A special feature is once again the very distinctive voice of singer Jogges.

That "Bengalo" despite all musical and lyrical similarity to its predecessor album does not degenerate into a decal, prevent the guys through a very dynamic songwriting. The album combines hard mid-tempo numbers like the metallic opener and title track, impelling Chokehold bowing ("man to man"), punky-flottier pieces ("the söhnin", "connectedness") and empowerment-typical street tunes à la "stu york state of mind "to an equally coherent, as well as varied overall picture.

The whole thing is garnished with a few rap inserts and features. Particularly noteworthy is a German-language trap song titled "Mensch ist Mensch", which is both unexpected and appropriate in the center of the record next to the otherwise well-tried sounds. Even though the track certainly takes some getting used to and will by no means be everyone's event, it underscores the symbiosis of unconventionality and a solid ideological foundation through its appealing text.

Sound technically rumbles and groovs the plate damn high-class through the boxes without sacrificing corners and edges. Here, too, the balancing act between filth and appealing production succeeds effortlessly. With all the punk attitude you can not deny the guys a certain professionalism.

Even if "Bengalo" for me personally does not deliver a flawless hit like "Stuttgart asozial", should here anyone who is on Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags or Sick Of It All blind access. If you are curious or looking for the soundtrack to the next AFD counter-demo, you should definitely check the album stream or order the record or CD at End Hit Records. Stu york state of mind (*Review from HERE ).

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RED VISION

"stake your claim"
Year:  2018
Country:  US
City:  Richmond, VI
Label:  Edgewood
Format:  LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  26 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Hardcore

Red Vision coming in hot with their second release with Edgewood, This time their debut LP, which we are very excited for the world to hear. They are a five-piece band started in 2015, with some demos, three ep's and this full lenght album issued in 2018 through record label "Edgewood" on LP format and an edition limited to 500 copies (plus their digital format on Bandcamp).

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